Hallmark Isn’t Just About Greeting Cards…They Have Valentine's Day Movies Too!

My favorite Saturday night (or Sunday afternoon) escape is a Hallmark movie. For as long as I can remember, I knew that a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie would be something special and Mama and I would never miss one. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Hallmark Hall of Fame is the longest running primetime series in the history of television beginning in 1951. Their programming has received eighty-one Emmy Awards, eleven Peabody Awards, and nine Golden Globes. Today, Hallmark has two channels devoted to good, old-fashioned television: the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Mama lives with me now and we still watch the new Hallmark movie on Saturday or Sunday night and dish about it. Sure, they’re a bit predictable (my husband’s favorite thing to do is to predict the ending at the beginning of the movie and I might say… he’s not always right – wink, wink). I like happy, predictable, and cozy movies. I can forget about the daily news and come away with a warm and fuzzy feeling afterwards (then I’ll watch them all again!)

Today I’m reviewing a recent Hallmark Hall of Fame movie called Love Locks starring Rebecca Romijn (once married to Full House and General Hospital star, John Stamos) and real-life hubby and funny man, Jerry O’Connell (whose brother, Charlie, was on The Bachelor). Set in Paris, this love found, love lost, love reconnected story has a modern twist around the tradition of putting a lock on the Ponts des Arts bridge over the Seine River which had the romantic notion of sealing ones love forever. (The pad locks were actually removed by the city in 2015 due to the deterioration of the bridge’s iron grillwork and woven into the storyline.) This story is not only about losing a love interest but also losing interest in one’s career passion. It takes the mutual friend and mentor played by Bruce Davidson (remember the movie, Willard? Michael Jackson’s song, Ben, keeps running through my head) to bring these long lost loves back together after 20 years. The scenery is lovely, the chemistry between Romijn and O’Connell is real, and the struggle to finally make the right life decision is something that a lot of us regularly contemplate. Hallmark will be showing four new original movies this Valentine season—it’s all about LOVE! Grab your popcorn and snuggle up with your honey pie (or puppy dog) for a month of love stories.